2004 budget (GEL)
2010 budget (GEL)
Presidential Administration
8 million
17 million
Government Chancellery
3 million
9 million
Justice Ministry
22 million
45 million
Healthcare Ministry
400 million
1.3 billion
Education Ministry
60 million
400 million
According to an advisor to the prime minister, along with the general increase in the budget allocations, an overall staff reduction and optimization has made it possible for the ministries to offer higher salaries to their employees and to attract qualified professionals.13 Another government advisor told TI Georgia that the current level of funding makes it possible for the executive branch to compete with the private sector on the labour market.14 Both interviewees noted that the executive branch presently has sufficient resources to perform its functions effectively. Ghia Nodia, head of a leading Georgian think tank the Caucasus Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development, told TI Georgia that, while ministries still face some problems in terms of resources, the improvements in funding have enabled them to perform their primary functions adequately. However, according to Nodia, since changes in a ministry s political leadership often result in the dismissal of civil servants employed there, the public generally views ministry jobs as an unstable type of employment, which could discourage some highlyqualified potential candidates from applying.15
Independence (law) Score: 100 To what extent is the executive independent by law?
13
14
15
16
17
Georgia s legal framework does not contain any provisions that would unduly restrict the executive s activities and allow for excessive intervention by other branches of government in its operation. On the contrary, as noted in the Bertelsmann Transformation Index report on Georgia, the executive enjoys almost unrivalled power under the country s current constitutional system.16
Interview of Tamar Kovziridze, advisor to the prime minister of Georgia, with the author, Tbilisi, 29 June 2010. Interview of Vakhtang Lezhava, advisor to the prime minister of Georgia, with the author, Tbilisi, 12 July 2010. Interview of Ghia Nodia, head of the Caucasus Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development, with the author, Tbilisi, 18 August 2010. Berteslmann Stiftung, BTI 2010 Georgia Country Report (Gutersloh: Bertelsmann Stiftung, 2009), 8. Interview of Gia Nodia with the author.
Independence (practice) Score: 100 To what extent is the executive independent in practice? In practice, as well as in the law, the Executive is the strongest branch of authority in Georgia. There have been no cases of undue interference by other actors (such as the Legislature or the military) in its activities.17 50
Georgia National Integrity System Assessment